A town or county is like a train. First of all, to build both, a lot of planning and hard work has to be done. People have to get involved.

Our forefathers just didn’t go to Lowe’s to find materials to build their houses and businesses. Just as train builders didn’t just start digging iron ore out of the ground to make steel.

People, from all parts of the world, came together to make our country what it is today. That’s also what it takes for a county and town to survive and prosper. People from all parts of the county have to work together to form a common bond.

To build a town, streets and roads have to be laid-out. Houses, stores and utilities have to be built. Commerce has to grow to maintain a healthy population. Churches and schools have to be built to provide the people with good morals and education opportunities. A good local and county government has to wear many hats to maintain order and keep their citizens safe. All the while, plans are made for the future to keep the towns and county from going under.

In the case of a train, rails have to be laid for the train to run on. Tunnels and bridges have to be built. Then the locomotives are built along with passenger and freight cars. Crews have to be trained and all the while there is maintenance on the trains and tracks. The C.E.O.’s of the company have to plan ahead while holding on to major stock holders. Most towns start off slow and gradually grow, unless gold, silver or oil is discovered in the area. Why, some actually grow into large cities. Though this growth might have its ups and downs. Some towns, through no fault of their own, just dry-up. Things like major highways, industries, airports and railroads have made or broke many a town.

The county in which the towns are located is affected either way. Just like towns, a train starts off slow and gradually builds up speed. The engineer controls the speed of the train while climbing grades or going around curves. The safety of the train and crew is in his hands although it takes a whole crew to operate a train. If a part of the crew doesn’t do their job the whole train is put in jeopardy.

Like a town has a mayor or a county has a county manager to run it, a train has an engineer to control the train. City council members and county commissioners are like the train crews that assist in getting the job done.

Counties and towns both need industries and good paying jobs to form a good tax base to keep them a float. All the while, railroads need more than passenger traffic to pay the bills.

For a big industry to come into an area it takes a lot of things to fall into place. In times past all it took was a cheap labor force, water and utilities. Today’s recruiters will plainly tell you that this doesn’t get it any more.

To land a big industry today it takes among others things: good tax incentives, a college or training facility, and good transportation, like roads, rails and air traffic. Other things would be land, utilities, nice restaurants, top notch schools and recreation opportunities for company employees and their families.

You say, J.A., where are you going with all this? Well folks, I’ve been listening to folks in high places including our own local politicians.

Yes, we are moving forward in our county and in our county seat. We have a new county judicial building, the old post office was recently sold, a new branch of Richmond Community College (business school located in downtown Rockingham) is soon to be completed, while our tax rate has basically stayed the same. All are notable accomplishments.

So, what is in the future for Richmond County? In my opinion, I can hear the faint sound of a lonesome train whistle as it nears, meaning our tax rates will soon be on the rise. Our county commissioners will soon be faced with the debt of building a new jail and repairing or tearing down our old courthouse. Both will be at a considerable cost to the taxpayers in our county. As the Holy Bible says “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” when residents find out how much our taxes will be going up.

A couple of years ago, Richmond County voters voted down a mere quarter per-cent tax hike to build a new recreation complex. What a shame!!! Folks we missed out on one of the best opportunities our county could have wished for. This would have brought in people from many different parts of our country. Hotel rooms would be filled, new restaurants would have been added. Overall, this would have helped put our county on the map. With tourism and growth from new business our tax rate might have remained at a reasonable rate.

Folks, I personally witnessed first-hand what a new recreation complex did for Iredell County. It has brought in many people with their kids to play tournaments and spend time with their families. Building this complex has been a shot in the arm for the local economy and helped bring new industry into the county beyond expectation.

Would we choose to spend our hard-earned tax dollars building prisons and jails or to put our youth in recreation programs that could possibly change their lives?

A town or county is like a train.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_I-Hear-A-Train-A-Coming.jpgA town or county is like a train.

J.A. Bolton

Storyteller

J.A. Bolton is author of “Just Passing Time”, co-author of “Just Passing Time Together”, member of the Anson Co. Writer’s Club, Anson and Richmond Co. Historical Societies, Story Spinners in Laurinburg. Contact him at ja@jabolton.